In editing the film for broadcast TV, the character of Darian's name was changed to Adrian after a lawsuit against Shapiro by the real-life Darian Forrester.[2] The VHS and laserdisc versions of the film still use the original name, but DVD releases and later cable TV airings also change the name to Adrian. The plot of The Crush was based on an actual incident involving the neighbor of writer Shapiro.[3]

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Arriving in Seattle, Washington, writer Nick Eliot (Cary Elwes) secures a job at Pique magazine and lodging in a guest house belonging to Cliff and Liv Forrester (Kurtwood Smith and Gwynyth Walsh). The handsome Nick soon makes the acquaintance of the Forrester's 14-year-old daughter Adrian (Alicia Silverstone), a precocious girl who develops an intense attraction to him. She secretly helps Nick by sneaking into his room and rewriting one of his Pique stories, which subsequently wins a rave from his editor/boss, Michael (Matthew Walker). At a party thrown by the Forresters, Nick agrees to accompany the lonely girl on a nighttime drive to a romantic spot, where she kisses him.

This intensifies Adrian's crush on Nick, but he quickly wises up and attempts to put her off, having begun a budding romance with coworker Amy (Jennifer Rubin). Adrian continues to boldly pursue him, even going so far as to undress in his view while he is hiding in her closet. Nick, however, continues to rebuff her advances, and Adrian's actions become destructive. She defaces a car he's restored and erases his computer discs, yet he's unable to convince Cliff and Liv of what's going on. Cheyenne (Amber Benson), a friend of Adrian who tries to warn Nick about her, meets with an "accident" at the riding school they attend together. After Adrian spies on Nick in bed with Amy, she locks Amy in her darkroom and empties a wasps' nest into the vents. Amy survives, and Nick, now convinced that Adrian is big trouble, attempts to find new lodging. However, Adrian manages to sabotage his efforts. She accuses him of sexually assaulting her with "evidence" obtained from a used condom from Nick's trash, leading to his arrest. After Michael bails him out (and fires him), Nick is met once again by Cheyenne. She informs Nick that she knows he did not do anything to Adrian, and that Adrian had behaved like this before to a previous crush, a camp counselor named Rick who "accidentally" died by eating something poisonous. Cheyenne also informs Nick of a diary Adrian kept that can exonerate him.

When Cheyenne leaves, Nick goes looking for her when he hears strange noises from the Forrester's house. He discovers Cheyenne bound and gagged in the attic, and is confronted by Adrian and then an amazed Cliff, who attacks him thinking he is the enemy. Adrian, still infatuated, attacks her father, leaving Nick free to subdue her with one punch. Acquitted, Nick goes to live with Amy while Adrian, confined to a psychiatric hospital, wishes to express her remorse for what she has done to Nick. Her doctor comments that she is making good progress, unaware she is developing a crush on him now.

Ultimately, she returns to her room in the psychiatric hospital, where she looks at her doctor's wedding photo with an evil glare.